Daily Devotional For Friday, August 15, 2025
Good morning Southside and I pray your week has been one of living for the glory of God and building His kingdom. Have you ever been rescued from anything? I was a life guard for years and have had to rescue a few folks. The truth is, if you have given Jesus Christ your life, He rescued you from sin, death and hell. If you ever have seen the news where someone is rescued, they tell everyone. The Apostle Paul writes this in Romans 6:22-23, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. (23) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NASB).
The Apostle Paul says we have a benefit from being rescued and freed. The Greek New Testament word translated as “benefit” is [Κάρπος, karpos]. A better translation would be the word “fruit” because it refers to more than one thing. The word translated as “sanctification,” is the Greek New Testament word [ἁγιασμός, hagiasmos]. It is often translated as the word “holiness or righteousness.” There is a fruit that leads to holiness or righteousness Paul says. We see Paul refer to this in Romans 4:3,”For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (NASB).
In other words faith makes us righteous in God’s eyes and challenges us to accept that God’s righteousness is livable and practical. This means that holiness and righteousness is gained over the lifetime of the redeemed disciple of Jesus. Meaning – over the course of our lives, we should resemble Christ more and more, not our culture until we stand before Him face to face in eternity.
But there is a downside to this – unrighteousness leads to 2 deaths – one is physical and the other is spiritual. BUT the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Notice Paul says that eternal life is a gift. This means we cannot buy it, bribe God for it or bargain with God to obtain it. This is Paul’s point in Ephesians 2:8-9. This means we are saved by God’s love and mercy and nothing in ourselves, otherwise we would boast about it.
The Bible tells many amazing stories of deliverance. The Hebrews rescued from Egyptian slavery and Daniel saved from a den of lions are just two. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace are a third. But the deliverance described in Romans is beyond any instance of deliverance we can imagine. When we were trapped in sin and completely helpless to rescue ourselves,
Jesus came to save us and give us a life of meaning and purpose—both in this life and for eternity. Having received such a gift, I don’t know why we are so hesitant to share it with people who are still trapped in sin. Rather than shake our heads, let’s extend an invitation to change. Let’s illuminate a path forward, free from despair. The reason God has given us breath is so we can tell how Jesus rescued us from the pit of our own sin. In the Romans 6:22-23 passage, Paul gives a comparison of our lives before Christ and then after Christ.
Before Christ After Coming To Christ
Formerly in bondage Now freedom in Christ
Formerly slave to sin Now holiness and righteousness
Formerly shame Now peace of mind
Formerly death Now life, even everlasting eternal life
Death in all its various forms, whether physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological, and eternal is the wage for one’s sin. But eternal life is a free gift – entirely free. Christ earned this for us on the cross. The word translated as “wages” is the Greek New Testament word [ὀψώνιον, opsonion]. This originally referred to the wages paid by a master to a slave. Without Christ, sin is our master and we its slave. Later the word was used in a general sense to express wages paid for work to anyone else. There is one other way it was used: militarily. In this expression, it conveyed the wages paid by a commanding officer to his soldiers. Meaning – the one paying out the wage was a slight edge and control.
Every one of us has a story of deliverance to tell. What are we waiting for? If you are saved, redeemed, you have a story to tell to others about how Jesus rescued and redeemed you from the enslavement of sin. No one can tell your story as effectively as you can. Think of it this way: when you go buy a car, who do you trust more? The sassy salesman trying to sell you a car or a satisfied customer who has bought from that salesman? The answer is obvious – you are the satisfied customer who has been rescued from the enslavement of sin. I am a paid professional. People expect a pastor to talk about this, but my influence is not as great as yours. Why? You are the satisfied customer in their eyes and I am the sassy salesman.
Assignment: Over the next few days, ask the Lord to bring into your path someone to tell your story about the difference Jesus is making in your life . . . unless you prefer that they just die and go to hell.
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 13:11, “Don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: ”Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to save me from the curse of sin and death. I praise You that, through His sacrifice, I have been made righteous, I have received life, I have been rescued and I have entered into blessing. Empower me with courage so I may boldly go and tell others of all You have done for me and have made available to them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly